Rhode
Island Board of Governors for Higher Education Policy
for Articulation and Transfer between Public
Institutions of Higher Education in Rhode Island

Action
on Policy

adopted
November 29, 1979 amended July 16, 1987

amended
January 7, 1982 amended June 16, 1988

amended
November 7, 1985 amended June 2, 1994

amended
June 18, 1998

INTRODUCTION

Articulation between the educational programs
of the Rhode Island public institutions of higher education is a matter
of considerable importance. The relationships among the academic
disciplines and between levels of coursework require clear understandings
about content and purpose so that students may make progress toward their
educational objectives without unnecessary disruption. Institutions
within the system, therefore, are obliged to observe these guidelines and
procedures for course and program articulation, and the transfer of credit.

PURPOSE

Articulation and transfer guidelines facilitate
cooperation between higher education institutions for the purpose of accommodating
the needs and interests of students who earn credit at one institution
and choose to transfer to another. Successful transfer minimizes
loss of time and duplication for students and optimizes the use of institutional
resources. The policy recognizes that each institution has a separate
and distinct mission, and that each has the responsibility to establish
and to maintain academic quality within that mission. Underlying
the policy is an attitude of mutual respect and cooperation among the institutions
and recognition that the primary objective of articulation agreements is
to benefit students.

GUIDELINES AND
PROCEDURES

Institutional Requirements

Each higher education institution has the
responsibility of establishing, maintaining and communicating requirements
to students seeking to complete courses and programs and to earn certificates
and degrees at the institution.

Transfer Student Admission

Admission of transfer students will be
determined by the receiving institution following an assessment of academic
performance and standing as well as eligibility for entrance to a specific
program. Students holding associate of arts degrees oriented toward
the baccalaureate degree with a grade point average of 2.4 from the Community
College of Rhode Island shall be assured admission to Rhode Island College
and the University of Rhode Island. If the number of transfer students
seeking admission to a particular program exceeds the number that can be
accommodated, program admission decisions will be based on criteria developed
and promulgated by the institution; these criteria shall provide fair treatment
for institutional students and for transfer students.

Direction of Transfer

The direction of student transfer (two-year
to four-year college or university, four-year to two-year, and four-year
to four-year) shall not affect the transferability of credit, unless so
noted.

Academic Transcript

Institutions shall keep a complete student
academic transcript. The transcript shall clearly identify each student
and include all academic work for which the student was enrolled during
each semester, the end-of-semester status in each course, grade and credit
awarded. The transcript shall clearly indicate the source of credit
(e.g., examination, course, assessment of experiences). A statement
explaining the grading policy of the institution shall be part of each
transcript.

Course Prerequisites

All requirements and prerequisites for
entrance into courses and programs shall be stated in the official catalog
in a consistent manner. The determination of such requirements and
prerequisites is the responsibility of the institution awarding the degree.
Transfer students who have completed equivalent prerequisite courses and
achieved an acceptable grade should not be required to repeat such prerequisite
courses.

Earned Credits

College-level credit earned with minimally
acceptable grades at one public higher education institution shall be transferable
to another as earned credit. Specified prerequisite-equivalent courses
may require a "C" grade to serve as the equivalent prerequisite at the
receiving institution; for non-equivalent prerequisite courses, a higher
grade may be required.

Pass/Fail Credit

The application of pass/fail grading systems
to transfer students shall be consistent with the application of those
systems to students who entered the institution as freshmen. Transfer
students should consult the catalog of the institution to which they are
transferring regarding these policies.

Non-Traditional Learning and Evaluation
for Credit

The determination of the credit value of
non-traditional learning is typically achieved through an examination or
other standardized or institutionally-accepted form of assessing prior
learning. An institution which examines or otherwise assesses extra-institutional
learning shall clearly state its criteria for measuring and awarding credit
and publish information about its credit by examination/assessment policies
in its official catalog.

For credit by examination, information
must be available that includes names of tests for which credit by examination
is given (Advanced Placement, general and subject matter CLEP, ACT, institutional,
etc.), and score levels which indicate that course work requirements comparable
to classroom situations have been met.

For the College-Level Examination Program
(CLEP), the receiving institution will accept the American Council on Education
(ACE) recommended credit-granting score for the year in which the examination
was taken.

Credit awarded through examination or other
forms of assessment shall be identified as such on the transcript.

These transcripted credits will be honored
by the receiving institution.

Graduate and Advanced Professional Credit

Decisions regarding the transfer of credit
toward advanced degrees (master's, CAGS, doctorate) or advanced professional
degrees rests with the faculty of the degree-granting division.

Resolution of Equivalency Disputes

From time to time there may be interinstitutional
disagreements among the faculty of subject matter disciplines. These
disagreements will normally be resolved at the chairperson level.
Conflicts not resolved by the chairperson will be referred to the Articulation/Transfer
Committee. The committee will resolve the dispute or forward a recommendation
to the Postsecondary Education Executive Council (PEEC). PEEC may
accept the recommendation or seek an alternate resolution.

TRANSFER GUIDE

Interinstitutional agreements on course
and program equivalencies shall appear in appropriate institutional publications
and be compiled regularly in a single document entitled: Transfer Guide
for Students (hereafter, the guide). The guide is an integral
part of the articulation/transfer policy and procedures and shall be made
available for use by students, faculty and staff.

Course Equivalencies

The institutions shall identify specific
courses that are equivalent. This identification shall be on a discipline-by-discipline
basis and shall appear in the guide. Information about course additions,
changes or deletions by an institution shall be communicated by the appropriate
chairperson to the corresponding chairpersons at other institutions for
equivalency evaluation before or during the annual meeting of departmental
chairs.

Program Equivalencies

The institutions shall specify transfer
agreements on a program-to-program basis; these agreements shall appear
in the guide. Program transfer plans will consist of the sequence
of courses to be completed to fulfill associate degree requirements at
the community college and the equivalent sequences at the college and the
university, where appropriate. Chairpersons shall agree on program-to-program
equivalencies before or during the annual meeting of department chairs.

General Education Requirements

General education programs are determined
by individual institutions, each of which has the continuing responsibility
for determining the character of its own program, for its own degree purposes.
General education program requirements shall be clearly stated in the institutional
catalog and in the guide. Students who intend to transfer to another
institution should review that institution's general education requirements
and discuss their plans with admissions counselors or advisors in their
intended majors.

STUDENT RIGHTS
AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Students who intend to transfer must inform
themselves of the transfer admission requirements, and the program and
degree requirements of the institution to which they expect to transfer.

Students who through no fault of their
own encounter legitimate difficulties in transferring from one institution
to another must seek resolution of these difficulties through institutional
procedures, with the assistance of academic advisors. Students who
have exhausted all administrative remedies available at the institution
to which transfer credit is being sought and who has been unable to satisfactorily
resolve the problem may appeal in writing to the articulation/transfer
officer at the institution that awarded the credit. The articulation/transfer
officer shall receive and consider all relevant materials and shall review
the cases with appropriate representatives of the receiving institution
so that a determination may be made as to the transferability of the courses
or earned credits being contested. Cases which cannot be satisfactorily
resolved may be reviewed by the Articulation/Transfer Committee.

When a student transfers under the course-to-course
option, the articulation/transfer agreement in place when that student
initiates the second half of the associate’s degree program (31 credit
hours or more) will be the agreement that governs course equivalencies
for that student.

When a student transfers under a program-to-program
agreement, the student is governed by the requirements in effect at the
beginning of the academic year in which the student was officially accepted
into the program. These requirements will remain in effect for that
student for five years regardless of changes to individual course equivalencies.

INTERINSTITUTIONAL
ARTICULATION/ TRANSFER COMMITTEE

Composition of the Committee

To assure compliance with and the continuing
viability of the Articulation/Transfer Policy, a permanent interinstitutional
committee on articulation/transfer was established. This Articulation/Transfer
Committee is comprised of eleven members: three from each of the three
public institutions of higher education plus a chairperson and a staff
person from the Rhode Island Office of Higher Education (RIOHE).
The institutional representatives are appointed by the president and are
to include the institutional articulation/transfer officer. The chairperson
is appointed by the Commissioner of Higher Education. Committee appointments
shall be reviewed every three years.

Committee Responsibilities

The Committee is responsible to the Postsecondary
Education Executive Council (PEEC) for the following tasks:

Soliciting suggestions from administrators,
faculty and students concerning matters of articulation/transfer;